COAST seeks more funds from communities: Official says costs for paratransit services have risen rapidly

By Liz Markhlevskaya

lmark@fosters.com

fosters.com

By Liz Markhlevskaya

lmark@fosters.com

Posted Jan. 26, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Liz Markhlevskaya

lmark@fosters.com

Posted Jan. 26, 2013 at 3:15 AM

ROCHESTER — Without additional funding from local communities, COAST bus service may have to make difficult decisions down the road, said COAST Executive Director Rad Nichols.

The bus service provider is looking for ways to keep up with the rising costs associated with its ADA paratransit, which provides transportation to residents with disabilities.

Due to the aging population, more people are relying on services such as ADA paratransit to get to and from work, doctor appointments, and shopping.

Nichols said in the past four to five years, the demand for the service from citizens with disabilities has been increasing about 50 percent per year.

“We’re struggling,” said Nichols.

He said that while providing the bus service to people with disabilities is rewarding and well-appreciated, “The costs are soaring as a result of the demand.”

He said that in fiscal year 2008, the budget for the ADA paratransit service was $180,000. This year, that number is at $850,000.

The ADA paratransit service offered by COAST consists of a small bus or a minivan, which provides rides to individuals with disabilities on an on-call basis. The vehicles transport customers to their chosen destinations within the local area.

Federal law requires COAST to complement its fixed bus service with the ADA-accessible paratransit service, said Nichols.

Last week, COAST representatives met with city managers, mayors, elected officials, and administrators from area communities that help subsidize the bus service. Nichols said that COAST has asked these communities to collectively contribute about 20 percent more to the service, which would translate to about $120,000.

He said 11 local communities are currently subsidizing the service, and historically, COAST has been fortunate to have strong political and financial support of local cities and towns.

Whether local communities will be willing to make higher contributions remains to be seen; most towns and cities are at the beginning stages of preparing their budgets for next fiscal year.

“We may, based on the decisions communities make, have to make difficult decisions ourselves,” said Nichols.

Asked what those decisions might involve, he said, “That I don’t have an answer to right now.” He did say that diminishing the number of bus routes, and increasing the bus fare, are possibilities.

Nichols said the overall feeling at last week’s meeting with community officials was that policy-level changes need to take place, in the shape of more funding at the federal or state level.

COAST currently receives subsidy from the Federal Transit Administration — about 60 cents for every dollar spent by COAST — but with increasing costs, more federal and state funding will be needed, said Nichols.

If COAST is to sustain itself in the long term, increased government funding will be a necessity, said Nichols.

“It’s a public service, just like the roads are. It will always require subsidy just like the roads do,” said Nichols.

He said that with laws mandating transportation for people with disabilities, there should also be a way to pay for the related expenses.

“We (as a society) have said this is important to our residents, but we need to step up and agree to then fund that,” said Nichols. “And it can’t be solely the responsibility of the local community to do that, it’s a shared burden.”

At a meeting on Wednesday, COAST board of directors discussed the possibility of increasing the bus fare, and according to Nichols, “we continue to assess that.”

He said that at first glance, it doesn’t appear that raising the fare would make a substantial difference in the COAST budget, unless the fare was raised so high that it becomes “significantly detrimental to ridership.”